Narratives
Three Thieves
© J. Young 2023
In the overgrown stillness of the jungle night
Three crooked faces wait,
Lit by the light of the midnight’s moon
Plans have been made, but the fourth man is late;
And the night time waits for no-one
As it continues to tick,
Through it’s midnight minutes…
Sam turns to Jimmy,
Jimmy turns to Bill,
“C’mon then boys,
There’s no time left to kill.
Down there in the Temple
Lies the silver and gold
And if the fourth man can’t make it
Then that’s the way it goes.
He knows he has to meet us
Where the meeting point’s to be,
Underneath the branches
Of the Banyan tree.
And I’ll tell you this for nothing
I ain’t wasting no more time,
I’m gonna take all the treasure,
And make their gold mine!”.
The three crooked faces grinned
And slipped away unseen,
Into the overgrown night-time
Of jungle blue and green.
Down in the village
Three shadows creep,
Into all the houses
Where the villagers sleep.
With empty sacks under their arms
The Thieves would enter in,
And come out minutes later
With their sacks filled to the brim.
They cast sinister shadows
Treading softly on the ground,
The silver moon upon them
They never make a sound.
And when all the sacks are full
And all their pockets bulge,
They head back to the jungle
To tally what they stole.
Underneath the quiet
Of the moon’s astonished face,
The Thieves desert the village;
They never leave a trace…
Three Thieves timelapse
Taxi Driver
© J. Young 2023
“Yes my friend, Taxi for you!
1000 Rupees and I’ll get you to
Your destination, guaranteed!!
It’s cheap. No meters in Mumbai!
And once you sit down deep inside
I’ll be your eternal guide
And can you hear the roar of the dream?
That’s the sound of this Machine!!
With pure Brahma power under the hood
You’ll be the hero of a billion Bollywoods!!
so relax and let me set the scene
And let me tell you all about me…
I AM the man.
I AM the Machine”.
I wind the window down and listen
To whining sirens and ringing bells,
The shift in pitch of the market stalls
And the carpet that has been installed
Upon the ceiling of this beautiful Taxi.
The coffee stains, the faded signs
Which over time
I think you’ll find
Have actually improved
The interior of the Machine
Act as a backdrop
For the snapped fan blades, covered in mud
And the broken strip lights, flickering bright.
The beeping horns,
And the roar of motors
Daring to catch up, Catching up,
Cutting each other up
In switchblade traffic,
Until we’re all thrown forward by a sudden stop
As the lights go red
The night watches
Here I come to rattle your bones!
My eyes will roll within your skull!
Red tongues loll out,
I spit then start
To make a space for human hearts,
On the Oceans upon the tides
I ink the souls, I poison minds
From Papua drifting in the breeze
The Borneo coast, the China Seas
Sulawesi and the Balinese –
I breathe with the wind of dread;
Beast to man, the fear is spread.
On the coat tails of the Sun
I beat her off in fearful fun,
Until She comes around once more
human puppets on the floor,
Drown in the shadow of the dark
The murder twitches upon the mask,
And I will squeeze your pumping heart –
The prisoner in it’s cage.
Shut your eyes!
Shut them tight!
For I come screaming in the night!
Death is just a bawdy game
Should I chance to call your name!
Fingers tighten around your throat
A fleshless wreck of skin to smote
You are broke on an Island of Fire,
Your path is lost…
Your hope expired.